[ad_1]
"I have to do that," said Dylann S. Roof, then 21, to his African-American victims in Emanuel's lobby, as he was firing 77 shots fired from A semi-automatic handgun Glock, "because you are raping our women and you are taking over our world," according to survivors who testified at his trial in 2016.
Shortly before the synagogue's onslaught, which allegedly involved four weapons, including a .357 Glock, according to police, Robert Bowers, 46, explained it in a message posted on social media. "I can not stand by and watch my people get slaughtered," he wrote. "Go crazy, get in there." After his surrender, he told a SWAT officer that he "wanted all Jews to die" because they "were committing genocide against his people," according to a criminal complaint.
Despite hard evidence and overwhelming witnesses, Bowers pleaded not guilty Thursday against 44 charges, including hate-motivated crimes that could result in the death penalty if, as announced, the Ministry of Justice continued. Like Mr. Roof, who was convicted and sentenced to death, Mr. Bowers requested a jury trial.
Pastor Manning heard about the shooting in Pittsburgh last Saturday when his smartphone vibrated with an alert. He was at Emanuel and was attending a roundtable on the Charleston Massacre for a group of visiting young lawyers. His heart sank.
"Not yet," he remembered, thinking.
He had become Emanuel's pastor in 2016, tasked with the complex healing work of a deeply wounded church, which now attracts a large number of visitors to the city. He filled the pulpit once occupied by Reverend Clementa C. Pinckney, the first person killed by Mr. Roof. (It turns out that Pastor Pinckney, named in honor of legendary Pittsburgh hijacker Roberto Clemente, was a big fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.)
